Joe Ely Band

June 4, 2011 @ FitzGerald's

By Dave Miller

Joe Ely received a hero's welcome when he stepped onstage Saturday night at FitzGerald's. The storytelling rocker from Texas used to blow the roof off the roadhouse with regularity, but his visits to the Berwyn venue have become less fequent in recent years. It's an event anytime he plays a show in the cozy club and this one attracted the usual full house.

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Ely is an American original who's done every from work in a circus shoveling elephant manure to opening for The Clash to writing a book to being a member of the legendary band The Flatlanders with Jimmie Dale Gilmore and Butch Hancock, who played Americana music before the term existed. He's a compelling performer with a wealth of quality material who knows how to deliver it whether playing acoustic solo or electric with a band. His band shows are the most interesting, and he's featured a variety of sounds with different bands over the years from blistering rock with the late guitarist Jesse Taylor to romantic border music with flamenco guitarist Teye to the roadhouse raves with saxophonist Bobby Keys. All have been special in their own right.

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For this show, Ely brought guitarist Jeff Blankenhorn, bassist Jimmy Pettit and drummer Pat Manske. This band was more complimentary than collaborative, though Plankenhorn kept the sound colorful with an array of guitars including an electric, acoustic, slide and even a mandolin. This was not one of the tour-de-force shows like some of his classic concerts of the past. Ely opened in low-key fashion with new offerings "Nothing Much Has Changed" and "I'm a Man Now." "It's sure good to be here, y'all," Ely said after the second number. "There's no other place I'd rather be on a Saturday night." In fact, the first five songs were new as the concert showcased Ely's just-released album, Satisfied At Last. He wound up playing nine of its 10 songs. All held up next to his older stuff. Highlights included "Sew The Seed," in which Ely channeled Woody Guthrie, and "Live Forever," a Billie Joe Shaver cover that Ely played when Shaver was inducted into the Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame.

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The show gained momentum when Ely began sprinkling in some older songs starting with "All Just To Get To You," a tune the Bruce Springsteen contributed vocals to on Ely's Letter To Laredo album. "Dallas" into "The Road Goes On Forever" was a crowd-pleasing, one-two punch late in the main set. A joke went over well, too. "What's the difference between erotic and kinky?" Ely asked. "Erotic is using a feather. Kinky is using the whole chicken." 

The fun continued into the encores. "Loretta" closed the first one with a surprise false ending. "Sittin' on Top of the World" finished the second encore. "All right," Ely told the crowd. "I'm sitting on top of the world. Thank You." The comment didn't ring like showbiz shtick. It came across sincerely as Ely left the stage, beaming.

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That was supposed to be it. The crowd wanted more, but club operator Kate FitzGerald emerged from backstage and motioned to the soundman that the show as done, no doubt on directions from the 64-year-old rocker. Music started playing over the P.A. system. The crowd remained undaunted, however. People woldn't let Ely leave. The clapping and holldering continued, and Ely returned for a third encore, playing a satisfying siganture "Me and Billy The Kid." "We'd play all night if we didn't have to drive to Minneapolis," he said before finally leaving the stage for the last time.

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The setlist:

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Not That Much Has Changed

I'm a Man Now

Satisfied at Last

Sew the Seed

You Can Bet I'm Gone

All Just to Get to You

Mockingbird Hill

Leo and Leona

Midnight Train

Roll Again

Live Forever

Slow You Down

Dallas

The Road Goes on Forever

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Wind's Gonna Blow You Away

Loretta

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If You Were a Bluebird

Sittin' on Top of the World

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Me and Billy the Kid

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Start: 10:26 p.m./Finish: 12:17 a.m.

Totals: 20 songs, one hour 51 minutes